


Farewell Sweetness

by redbrunja



Category: Once Upon a Time (2011)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 18:46:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/298878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbrunja/pseuds/redbrunja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James consoles his wife.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Farewell Sweetness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [centuries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/centuries/gifts).



Snow hadn't been exaggerating when she said that she hadn't had a restful night's sleep since her wedding. James couldn't count the number of times he'd woken in the middle of the night to find her shifting restlessly next to him, or pacing the floor, or (most disturbingly) woke to find her lying rigid next to him, staring at the ceiling in the morning light, the skin under her eyes bruised from lack of sleep.

 

After speaking with Rumpelstiltskin and the subsequent council meeting, Snow had been swaying on her feet. He'd put his arm under hers, escorting her to their bedchamber. He hands were like ice.

 

When they reached their rooms, Snow crawled into bed and fell into sleep like a marionette with cut strings. Now that she knew exactly how bad it was, she was able to rest, like a veteran soldier who could cat-nap in the calm before battle. Snow handled the certainly of bad news better than foreboding possibilities. It was practice, probably. The death of her mother, the death of her father, her step-mother's desire to kill her, the news that yes, they were absolutely trapped in the Yellow Georgie Inn by inclement weather and those men by the fire were unquestionably the Queen's guards....

 

Although, in retrospect, James was quite pleased with how the situation at the Yellow Georgie Inn had resolved.

 

James tucked the blankets around his wife and curled around her. He pillowed his head on one arm and snaked the other between the swell of her belly and bosom, trying to etch every detail of this into his mind: her dark tresses spread across the pillow, smelling of vanilla and the white violets that the birds liked to weave into her hair; the sound of her breathing, soft and slow; the sensation of her delicate skin against his.

 

Snow started to make this low, whimpering sound that almost broke his heart.

 

"I'm here," he whispered into the shell of her ear, then kissed the sensitive skin there.

 

She shivered in his arms, turned towards him. "Green apples are safe," she mumbled, voice low and worried, still half-dreaming.

 

"I've always hated apples," James said soothingly. "You remember."

 

It was true - James had never been fond of apples. The wild ones fond near his old home had always been mealy and too-sweet and he'd never had enough money to waste coppers on the red, glossy apples sold at market. And after Snow had almost died from a poisoned apple... that fruit had been crossed off the list of acceptable things to serve at the Palace.

 

Snow blinked her eyes clear of sleep and he cupped the side of her face.

 

"Go back to sleep, Snow White," he instructed. She shook her head, closed her eyes, on hand fisting in his shirt.

 

"Do you ever wish..." she licked her lips, rephrased, "do you ever regret–"

 

"No," James said firmly, giving her a quick kiss.

 

"You don't even know–" there was a hint of laugher in her voice and he felt the world spinning just a fraction more in true.

 

"I do," he disagreed and she did laugh, the sound bright.

 

She smiled at him, eyes shining with adoration and he knew his expression matched hers. He kissed her again, closing his eyes and losing himself in the taste of her, the way that she nipped at his mouth lip.

 

"I never expected an easy life," he continued after several long moments. "I never _wanted_ an easy life, not even when money was scarce and winter was cold and the local wolf pack thought that our herd was a complimentary buffet. I wanted True Love. I wanted to be happy." He stroked a hand through her hair, loving the way her eyes went half-lidded at his touch.

 

"And then one day a pretty girl stole my mother's ring and hit me with a rock and I thought–"

 

She broke in with, "You thought, 'nothing could be worse than marrying the stuck-up royal my father picked.'" Snow ran a thumb along the scar at his chin.

 

"Weren't you taught about the dangers of interrupting a storyteller?" James frowned disapprovingly. He must not've been very convincing, because she had to muffle a giggle.

 

"I thought, 'the scenic route really needs to be patrolled more frequently.' And then I spent some time with my pretty thief, and discovered that she was brave, and witty, and wise, and watching her walk away felt exactly the same as leaving home. And _then_ ," James paused his tale for several more kisses, trying not to remember that for now, all of their kisses were numbered, "I ended up hiding in a very small room in a very small in while very big guards lurked downstairs and a very nasty storm blew, and it was the best evening of my life. Thus far," he added. "Since then there have been several superior nights."

 

"Oh?" Snow raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you'd like to relate the tale of those superior nights. In detail."

 

"After," he promised. "The moral of this story, Snow, is that you've already saved me. And in twenty-eight years, you and our darling daughter will save me again."

 

Snow's lashes were wet.

 

"I'm going to miss you so much," she said. "I was so alone for so long and I finally found you and now-"

 

"You're not losing me, Snow," he gripped her hands, as if he could force his certainly into her bones. "I will always love you. We will always find each other."

 

Snow nodded, swallowed thickly. "You're right." She kissed him, hard, passionate, the way she had minutes before they'd been caught by the guards at the Yellow Georgie Inn and a half an hour before they'd jumped into the Kitty Corner rapids to escape. She kissed him like a wife kissed her beloved before a long journey, like a heart's truest wish, like once upon a time and happily ever after all mixed together.

 

"I swear I'll find you again," she breathed, "cross my heart."

 

"I'll be waiting," he promised.


End file.
